Research and Data

Gen Z Entrepreneurs are Thriving: New Square Report Finds 84% Still Plan to be Business Owners 5 Years From Now

jul 26, 2023

Gen Z is proving its dedication to the entrepreneurial grind with 73% reporting that their business is their main source of income

Today, Square unveiled its first-ever Gen Z Entrepreneur Report, revealing how Gen Z entrepreneurs view success, what challenges they face, and what the future holds. For the full findings of the report, you can view here.

Standout findings from Square’s Gen Z Entrepreneur Report include:

  • Nearly 3 in 4 Gen Z business owners (72%) believe their generation has had fewer economic opportunities than previous ones, yet 39% report wanting to earn enough money to start another business or side hustle.
  • Gen Z entrepreneurs aren’t just sole proprietors with 39% going beyond being their own boss and having five employees or more.
  • Economic policies are top of mind as Gen Z most notably believes lower taxes (46%) would benefit their business, followed by affordable housing (42%) and universal basic income (35%).
  • Gen Z entrepreneurs are using their own savings to start their business, with nearly half (45%) doing so, including 53% of women compared to 38% of men.
  • While 80% of young entrepreneurs started their business online or had a mobile component, another 46% launched their business with a physical location for omnichannel operations.

“Our generation is so entrepreneurial because we want to be in control of our lives and determine when and where we work,” said Savanna Boda, Founder and CEO of Savanna Boda Aesthetics in Lewisville, TX, who uses Square for Retail, Square Appointments, Square Invoices, and Square Marketing to run her business. “I wanted to break away from the status quo of the corporate world so that I could follow my passions on my own schedule. I’m addicted to making people feel good about themselves and I get so much joy out of knowing I’m helping my community of clients.”

To understand how Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible for sellers of all types, size, and age, visit squareup.com.

About Square
Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services and banking products, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more – all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.squareup.com.

Methodology
The Square Gen Z Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 250 Gen Z US business owners, between April 18th and April 28th, 2023, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 6.2 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.